Last Snow of 2010...According to Mumble

Late December saw the first real snow of the Winter season...and the last snow of 2010. And it began like all other snows...cold, wet, constant. But I won't be telling you about my observances about the snow...but rather Mumble's....

Our inflatable penguin. He saw a great December this year with hardly any disturbances...until late in the month. The ambush of snow caught him by surprise and he felt "weighed-down" by the on-slaught.

The weather was so depressing to Mumble that he felt that he just wanted to disappear.

And within 24 hours, he did just that.

Today, Mumble is with us, but only in physical form. Let's just say that the "spark of life" inside him went out...and he will be missed.

Christmas 2010 in Review

The morning began just like every other Christmas morning....the smell of bacon permeated the apartment as I fried it up. Better than coffee...I think. I was working on the finishing touches to my Christmas tradition...the breakfast.

For as long as I could remember, we would have a breakfast souffle that just could knock your socks off. Sure...its one of the simplest things you could make...but its not Christmas until I have it.

Anyway, I was cooking the bacon to top it all off...and Robyn emerged from her room...

"Mmmm, bacon.....Merry Christmas!" Well...I agree in the order of priorities!

Anyway...I put the breakfast in the oven, Robyn started her coffee...and the it was STOCKING TIME! Yes, stockings take place before presents and before breakfast...and its a free-for-all!

Once we finished were finished, , I played "elf" (as Robyn's father says) and passed out the gifts from under the tree. Then breakfast came out of the oven and we enjoyed the tastiness of the season!!! YUM YUM!

Now...down to business. Traditionally...in my family, we open gifts from youngest to oldest. With only two of us...we just switched off opening presents.

One of Robyn's gifts was 50 cookie cutters from Andy...which she was thrilled about, calling it "her own Animal Cracker set."


We continued to open presents, back and forth, and finally Robyn opened her final present...from me...that I told her she had to open last....and this was why...

That's right....her very own Kitchen Aid mixer...which ps, she hugged and didn't let go of for a while. She is now trying to decide what recipe to break it in on. Haha!

All in all...it was a very nice Christmas...

With a lot of dead wrapping paper left...displaying the battle that we won...

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas...and won your own wrapping battles!

Happy Birthday To Me...

This week was my 'birthday week' as deemed by a couple of people from work. And boy...what a week it was!!!

It all started with a trip to NYC with Andy! We drove down to New Haven to catch a train into the city. Once we arrived we had a few things to walk around and see before the main event of the day...

SO we headed to Le Parker Meridian...a high-end hotel near Carnegie Hall. They were having a Gingerbread Extravaganza and the theme this year: Movies In New York. Local bakeries created their renditions of some classics...


....like West Side Story...

....or Ghostbusters...(check out that Stay-Puffed Marshmallow Man!!)

...and King Kong (whoa there....big monkey!)....

...and Andy's favorite....BIG!

We then headed out on our walk to Times Square....and saw a bunch of neat things on the way...

(those are some big ornaments)

(but damn...those are big lights!)

Once we got to Times Square...we visited the M&M store before heading to the main event...BILLY ELLIOT!! It was such an amazing show with great songs and awesome dancing!!

We then headed out for dinner (ps...really good) and then decided to go look around a little more...hitting the Disney store and then down to Harold's Square for Macy's...

I had never seen the windows at Macy's....hell, I'd never been to Macy's in NY.

Once we experienced Macy's (including heading up the 8 floors to see Santa Land)...I finally hit a wall...and we headed back to Grand Central to catch a train back home...

It was a long day...but an amazing one!! And definitely, a birthday I won't forget...ever!

Into The Woods...

So...this is a late blogpost about this...considering this morning had a little left over frost/snow...but the Fall is my favorite time of year. It's cooling off from the summer and the colors are the best of all.

I had a 'bf' or 'best friend' day with Andy which was filled with walking around our outdoor shopping center and alot of hanging out...but my favorite part was the hike we went on.

There is a one-mile trail right around where we live that was beautiful. There is a reservoir that trickles out into a stream along this path so you could hear the small babbles of the water while we were crunching along in the leaves.

I really want to come back to see this trail during every season...particularly in the snow!

7 Times in One Night...

Oh get your mind out of the gutter!

I'm talking Haunted Houses! Yes, it's that time again... Time to for the leaves to change color, the weather to get cool/cold and time to frightened to death! YAY!

Ok, I'm a HUGE fan of Halloween. It is my favorite holiday (yes, I'm crazy) in my favorite season of Fall. I don't know what it is exactly: the weather, the colors, the candy or the ability to become someone or something else for a night. It's just amazing to me.

So my best friend and I drove up to New Hampshire to go to Nightmare New England, said to be the #1 Haunt in the North East. I wanted to test that theory. It boasts a Monster Midway along with 7 haunted houses/attractions.

The attractions were as follows:

THE CATACOMBS

RAVEN'S CLAW CEMETERY

THE COLONY

FREAK SHOW in 3D

ETERNAL DARKNESS

TORMENT

SLEEP STALKERS

I lost it in the Freak Show when a clown came up to me (which I'm terrified of) and wouldn't leave me alone. I did leave the house in tears and poor Andy had to hold me until I calmed down. I was just glad I didn't save that one for last...

The two best were I think the last two we did: Eternal Darkness and Torment.

Eternal Darkness you walked through with just a glow stick to light you way and everything was pitch black. Freaky! It was so cool because you had no idea what the hell was going to come out at you next. We had monsters come up to us individually saying "good luck" and "did you miss me" in whispers. Creepy!!

Torment was for your fears. It was all based on phobias. This included snakes, spiders, bugs, enclosed spaces and (yes, again) clowns. This was freaky because they employed things to make everything freakier. Strobe lights to make the snakes move, gobos to have moving roaches, an inflated hallway that you had to literally squeeze through. Luckily for me, the clowns were at the end and I could hustle through them.

Ok...I'm sure someone is wondering, if you are so scared of clowns, why go into haunted houses with them. Damn Tim Curry...I blame him and Pennywise the Clown. Because of the movie IT, I'm terrified of clowns and my way of facing that fear is to go to haunted houses. Why not a circus? Because I really don't like circuses.... I'll go to a haunted house with killer clowns from outer space before I'll go to a circus with happy-go-lucky clowns. I'm just weird like that.

Anyway, we finished the park about 5 hours after beginning and we were frozen from head to toe (or at least I was) but it really was a blast. So all in all, the 11 hour adventure was well worth the time and $35!!! I'll be looking into it next year too!!!

Get your spook on!!

How do you spell F-U-N?

So this year was the 4th Annual Community Spelling Bee hosted by Achieve Hartford! and we were apart of it once again. It was my second year to participate in the Bee and I at least had an idea of what happens at these things from last year.

I complied a team of myself and two additional apprentices, though we did have to make a last minute substitution, and we participated as THE BEE-LIST STARS.


Our goal: do better than our team last year (who went out on the second word).

Was it completed? YES!!

We made it to the fourth word (which truly is better than we have done in the past) and pretty much everyone in our round got out on the word: LAPIDEOUS.

Oh well, we had fun and of course it was to benefit the Hartford Schools, so we were happy to be apart of it again. We had a small but good cheering section, like last year, so that was a plus as well.

Goal for next year: WIN!!


We'll see....tune in next year!!

Things I Wish Connecticut Had...

There are plenty of things that I like about Connecticut:

1) Located in New England, meaning close to some family members

2) Better foliage (let's face it, I'm a sucker for fall leaves)

3) Food (let's face it again, I love food...)

There are things I don't like about Connecticut:

1) Missing The Container Store

2) Missing Qdoba

Two of my favorite things...and they don't exist in Connecticut.

When I lived in Texas, one of my favorite things to do was walk around The Container Store. I was obsessed with organization (though I lacked it in a lot of aspects of my life). I loved the idea of it though. If I had the money, I would buy everything from there and put it all into use. I remember when I would participate in sports and particularly when I was a cheerleader, we would be assigned a teammate to prepare gifts for before a game. The Container Store was where I would find all of my boxes, tins, bags, stickers, etc that I would use to put the gifts in. It was incredible. To this day, it is still one of my favorite places to visit and browse and buy from.

All of my life, Mexican or Tex-Mex food was my favorite to eat. When I lived in North Carolina, I encountered a place that I would fall in love with called Qdoba. It wasn't the first time I had a burrito like this, but it was by far the best (at least to me). I would drive there at least once a week (sometimes more, guilty as charged) to eat the food. I made believers out of classmates and friends. They make a Chicken Queso Burrito that I love and would drive great distances to have.

Because both of these places don't exist in Connecticut, I had to drive to the closest locations: Massachusetts. It's usually about an hour and a half one way....but I guarantee, it is worth it, for both of them.

And on the way, you might see something crazy...(Disclaimer: You shouldn't photograph and drive at the same time. Please don't try this on your next drive.)

So get on the ball Connecticut...you finally got a Sonic (and soon to be two of those), now make it happen for two of my favs!!!

Fair Time

The Fall brings about many things that I enjoy because of this particular time of year: cooler weather, leaves changing colors, Halloween and fairs.

Having grown up in Texas I knew what true State Fairs looked like. The Texas State Fair is, in a small word, huge. For a state that big, it better be, right? I do indeed miss the Texas State Fair, with its food and rides. But I can't miss an opportunity to attend another State Fair, can I?

How about 6 States Fairs...all in one! Too good to be true you say? But halt, no...it is true! Welcome to The Big E, held at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

My roommate and myself went to The Big E, as we did last year, and while it was a different experience, it was still a good one. We ate tasty food. I believe the best quote of the night was as follows:

Robyn: I'm hungry!
Me: We'll get you a corn dog to tied you over.

I wasn't lying. We had a plan ahead of us on food to eat. Unfortunately for me, having been in the ER just a few days before, I wasn't in the best of shape to eat a lot of food, but I tried my best.

We started the evening with corn dogs (best fair food anywhere, I believe). As we walked through the fair, we stopped at the craft section. This was for Robyn. She was looking specifically for an ear cuff, something she buys every year, and we found a new one for her.

Next was the baked potatoes. Baked potatoes? At a fair? Why yes, at this fair. At The Big E, there are state halls, one for each of the states represented. You want a great baked potato with all of the fixings?! Go to Maine! Maine is one of the largest producers of potatoes in the country, which I didn't know until last year. So of course, we dined on them!! We walked around the hall for a bit following the starchy goodness and decided, when in Maine, we would split a lobster roll. It was good, though cold and I prefer warm with butter.

Next we moved on through a few more state halls, including Vermont. Robyn was all about this state and saying that if she was going to buy maple syrup, it would come from here (we had a slight disagreement about that). Anyway, we did agree that below was not edible...


My night of food was done, but we still had rides to go on. Well, ride...as my roommate was not a fan of spin-y rides and without an extra person, I didn't want to ride alone. So we rode "Crazy Mouse" and had a good time. We were pretty much the oldest people in line...rather sad, but it didn't stop us. We continued around the Midway looking at all the other rides. We found this one and I couldn't resist photographing it in honor of our current production of Antony & Cleopatra.

We ended our night with purchasing new watches (something we both actually needed), followed by (sadly) a failed attempt to find the Craz-E burger: a bacon cheese burger on a donut. We would have split that too, if we had found it. Robyn wanted to end her night with a caramel apple (for the road) and ice cream as we walked out. I convinced her to try frozen custard, something I like from the boardwalk in New Jersey. Needless to say, she liked it!

So we left The Big E satisfied and tired. I was a little weak due to being up and about so much, but it was worth it. I only wished we had others there with us, like last year.

Well, maybe next year...

Heeeere Fishy Fishy Fishy...

So, roomie and I have been prepping our new fish tank for about 2 weeks and now the day has finally come...WE HAVE FISH!

So with Mini Mount Wanahaukalougi bubbling away, let me introduce you to the newest members of the family...

First up, Tik (pronounced teak). Tik is a Dalmatian Molly and I named her after a former pet of mine, a Dalmatian dog name Batik.

Second is Edward. Edward is a White Sailfin Molly and I named him Edward for multiple reasons: he's pale white, ice cold (well, cold-blooded) and super fast! AND...I do have an obsession with the Twilight books with the pale, cold vampire named Edward...

Next, Mickey! Yes, Mickey...as in Disney's Mickey Mouse. Mickey is a Red Mickey Mouse Platy and is so named for the Mickey Head located towards the tail of his body. This is the first of Robyn's fish!

Last but not least....Minnie, of course! Minnie is Robyn's second fish and she is a Gold Mickey Mouse Platy. You can see she's taken...by Mickey, naturally!

So, these are our babies...and we love them already! Stay tuned for more fishy updates!!!

Sick As A Dog

So....being sick is by far my least favorite thing to be.

When I was younger, I hardly got sick. It was so rare for me, but it was partially due to being an only child and going to a school with so few students in my class. I tended to fake more often than I would be because I would need to catch up on homework I didn't have time to work on the night before. Of course, when your out, you miss class, thus missing assignments, so you're still behind.

Catch-22.

In college, boy did I get sick time and time again. It started being linked to my tonsils because I got a lot of sore throats. I remember going to the ENT (for those that don't know...Ear, Nose and Throat doctor) and hey told me told me to open my mouth and say "ah" so I did. When I did, he responded "ah!" No joke. Basically my tonsils were so scarred, they had these crevasses where basically germs and bacteria were just hiding out. When I took antibiotics before, it would basically just skim the service, but lurking deep down in the dark...evil!

Needless to say, we got those puppies taken out the next time I was home on break from school and apparently they wanted out too because my doctor said they just about popped out of my throat on their own.

Gross, I know.

Anyway, once those bad boys were out, I hardly got sick and I'm the more grateful for it. The unfortunate side effect...the less times I got sick almost equalled the harder I got sick when I did fall ill. That's how I feel right now.

I think in the last 48 hours I've gotten about 9 hours of sleep total. 4 hours on Friday night (technically Saturday morning) and 5 hours last night. It's progressively getting better, which I'm grateful for, but I'd love to sleep through the night. If I felt that I could take something to help me sleep without giving me drug overload, I would...but I'm always nervous about taking my sleeping pills unless I absolutely have to.

Maybe I'll be able to get a short nap in today in my day of "relaxing"...which just means not moving from the couch as much as possible unless its to change the DVD.

Drive-In Fun

Tonight should have been my second adventure to the drive-in. I had never been to a drive-in theatre before a few weeks ago and I got to watch Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Too bad I did make it through the movie. We got there in plenty of time, grabbed some grub from the concession stand and chilled, watching all of the cars pack into a very small space considering the number of cars.


Gone were the day of the radios that you put into your car from the stand that you would have parked next to. Instead, you tune into a certain radio station and poof, the movie magic is in your car without having to leave the windows down or deal with heat or bugs.



It was a very nice night though, so the windows did stay down...and we didn't need the car's radio on. The gigantic truck we parked next to had their sound pumped up so loud, we couldn't even tell if ours was even on.


I ended up not feeling good, so I hoped in the backseat for a quick nap and then we ended up leaving early, so I could get some actual sleep and we could avoid the traffic.

Despite the setbacks, I really loved the experience and planned on going tonight, but life has other plans. I'm home sick and detesting it. I wish I could be out in the cool night air enjoying Jurassic Park....but alas....I'm watching it at home, with a bunch of Kleenex and juice.

Ah well...

Under The Boardwalk

I was lucky enough to spend a long weekend with my mom and grandma on the Jersey shore, a place where I have been going since I was a kid.

Ocean City, NJ...a family resort. It was great to be there again, since I hadn't been back for about 2 years. But the beaches were great, the water was cool but warmer than usual for this time of year, and above all...VERY RELAXING!

What was great, was that I was able to take the House Cup with me on the adventure and see how it was relaxing too?!

Amazing.

I wish I lived closer so I could visit more often....that would be one of the most amazing things...

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Almost one month ago, I was able to go with my best friend to Fenway Park. I had never been before, nor had he, so together we ventured to Boston for an afternoon of baseball.

We took the train in from a station in Massachusetts right to Fenway Park. Beats driving into the city and then finding parking. When we arrived at Fenway, I was overwhelmed. I didn't know which was to look. Vendors and shops selling food and sports items, along with the crowds and even bagpipers. Oh yes, I knew I was in Boston.

The game was Boston Red Sox v. Texas Rangers: two teams I hold near and dear to my heart. The dilemma: I am an avid Red Sox and Rangers fan...my friend = Yankees fan.

Oooooh. How would this situation come to pass, my dear readers, seeing as my buddy was entering 'enemy territory'?

Well, he said he would root for the Rangers while I would root for the Red Sox. He wore no Yankees memorabilia, but he was the only one clapping in our section for the opposing team (though internally I was too).

At one point, a guy sitting next to us, turned to him and said "you're a Rangers fan I see" (or something close to that), to which my friend replied something along the lines of "yeah I like them" or something similar. I had a moment of whispering in his ear saying "why don't you tell them who you really root for" and his reply: "do you want me to make it out of here alive?!"

Anyway, they were great seats. It was a great day. I was happy because no matter who one the game, I would be happy (ps...it was the Rangers who won).

Lions and Tigers and Bears...

Oh my....goodness. This post should have happened about a month and a half ago, but life happens and you get busy...

So, now I'm posting about my fun July 3rd trip to the Bronx Zoo. Yes, I said Bronx. My friend and I drove down to NYC to see the animals! I'm a sucker for Aquariums and Zoos, and the Bronx Zoo is one of the best I've been to!! It's HUGE! Next to San Diego, it's the biggest!

It was a toasty day but a lot of fun. Here is a compilation of the animals who were fairly conked out when we saw them...

I love zoos!

The Big D and Baby J

June is the time for weddings. I was recently out in Dallas for Fomby's wedding (yes, the same one who's bachelorette weekend I went to in NYC). But, it was also a chance for me to meet my goddaughter, Jordan.

I went with Jordan and her parents to the Dallas Zoo. It was her first experience at a zoo and while it was stinking hot, I think she liked it.

I was grateful to have that time with her and be able to start establishing myself as "Auntie Lauren." It was adorable. I can't believe she will be TWO years old in just a few days. It seemed like yesterday when I was getting the message saying she had been born!

But while in Dallas, I was able to catch up with old high school friends and teachers and spend some time with the bride-to-be. It was extremely nice to be included in a lot of the wedding events, such as the bridal luncheon (below) and the spa day.

It's strange to think that we are coming up on our ten year high school reunion. Some people haven't really changed, and others have. But I still can think back on those days and remember the great time I had with everyone. Sure, there were things that I wish I had done better, or could do over, but generally, I liked my high school years.

Things were simpler then...

NYC...What Is It About You?

Really? What is it?

I went to New York for the Bachelorette weekend for Elizabeth (affectionately known as Fomby, and pictured below).

We had an interesting first night...consisting of a Malaysian dinner and a burlesque show (I said interesting). We had a great time and walked ALL over the city.

We were staying at a friend of Fomby's in the financial district, right next to Trinity Church (National Treasure anyone? Albuquerque! Snorkel!) Anyway, it was a beautiful apartment and a beautiful church. I did feel like I needed to go into the crypt and look for treasure...

After our night of debauchery, we went out for brunch off of Times Square, saw street performers and walked around Central Park.

Anyway, it was a great trip and even though I would never live in NYC, it is always nice to visit.